Commentary

Chaplain thoughts

“Hope is not the conviction that something will turn out well but the certainty that something makes sense, regardless of how it turns out.”

~ Vaclav Havel

How do you define hope? More importantly, where do you find hope? Hope is much more than just desiring a good outcome to an event. Psalm 33:20 teaches us, “We wait in hope for the Lord; he is our help and our shield.” A Godly hope can be defined as a “blessed assurance,” not knowing how something will turn out, but that in the end, there is a reason for everything — even if we do not understand.

Local Military Discounts

Pentagon Channel

Since I joined the Air Force in 1992, our manpower and resources have been gradually reduced with no obvious change to the mission we support. While this has been labeled “doing more with less,” I don’t believe we’re truly doing any more than we did when I entered the military 22 years ago. We seem...

Throughout my career, the importance of situational awareness has been driven into my head. This became exceedingly clear to me when I landed in Tabuk, Saudi Arabia. It was March 17, 2003, about 48 hours until Operation Iraqi Freedom kicked off. We were busy building tents, making bunkers and preparing to execute the mission. Doing...

There are times in our lives which are marked by a flash of inspiration. Some coincidental event takes place that brings new insight or understanding. One such event happened for me this past fall at the funeral Mass of one of Luke’s longtime friends, Katie Gillen. Miss Katie served as our base librarian for many...

For Play Station II: ‘Kingdom Hearts II’ “Kingdom Hearts II” was released in 2005 for the Play Station 2 gaming console. The game is the sequel to “Kingdom Hearts” but the third in the series published by Square Eni...

The day I closed on my first house, my realtor and I did a final walk through to ensure there were no last-minute issues that needed addressing. Since I was a first-time home buyer, I didn’t know what to look for, so I finished my walk-through in 20 minutes. My realtor insisted on staying to...

A common issue we see at the 56th Force Support Squadron Military Personnel Section is that our military customers wait until the last minute to check their records. This can become an issue that can cause hardship on the member when it comes to promotion boards, permanent changes of station, retirement and separation. One scenario...

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The Thunderbolt is published by Aerotech News and Review, a private firm in no way connected with the U.S. Air Force, under exclusive written contract with the 56th Fighter Wing, Luke Air Force Base, Ariz.
Contents of the Thunderbolt are not necessarily the official views of, or endorsed by, the U.S. government, the Department of Defense or the Department of the Air Force.

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Editorial content is edited, prepared and provided by the Public Affairs office of Luke AFB, Ariz. All photographs are Air Force photographs unless otherwise indicated.